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Monday, February 24, 2014

The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls: A Novel by Anton Disclafani

Anton Disclafani’s debut novel is a deeply layered gaze into
both the teenage mind of Thea Atwell and
America as a country slipping into the stark emotional landscape of
the Great Depression.

Following a mysterious family tragedy, Thea is sent away
from her reclusive family home in rural Florida to the exclusive Yonahlossee
Riding Camp for Girls. Both a camp and year-round school for the daughters of
America’s elite, Yonahlossee provides the atmospheric backdrop to Thea’s reflection
and self-discovery. Thea's story is filled with detailed historical descriptions, an expert eye for horsemanship and nuanced themes of sexuality, family and friendship - and the devastation that can come from mixing them.

The tenor of Disclafani storytelling leaves the reader slightly
off balance (in a good way) as the tone gently slides between a thoughtful memoir
and uneasy foreboding of a tragedy yet to be revealed. I was curious to discover the events that brought Thea - a kindhearted and family oriented girl,with a love of horsemanship, and a deeply rooted loyalty to home - to become a shamed and emotionally torn familial outcast.